15 Jun: Dante Gets Political
Future poetic powerhouse Dante Alighieri was enshrined as one of Florence’s six priors on 15th June, 1300: a top political gig in the city’s complex guild-based government.
But his beloved hometown was a powder keg, split between rival factions: the Guelphs and the Ghibellines; and the Guelphs themselves were split into “white” and “black” camps. Dante, a White Guelph, soon found himself deep in the messy middle of this feud, helping to exile leaders from both factions after street fights broke out. He was then tried in absentia, on trumped-up charges, and sentenced to death by fire – beginning a long road of exile.
In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca consider how Dante turned his rage and wisdom into one of the greatest literary works of all time, The Divine Comedy; explain what a poet was doing in the Physicians Guild in the first place; and reveal how it wasn’t until 700+ years later that Florence officially pardoned him…
Further Reading:
• ‘Dante Alighieri: his Life, The Divine Comedy & Other Books’:
• ‘Return of Dante: the Guelphs and the Ghibellines’ (The Independent, 2008): https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/return-of-dante-the-guelphs-and-the-ghibellines-850012.html
• ‘Why should you read Dante’s “Divine Comedy”? – Sheila Marie Orfano’ (Ted-Ed, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbCEWSip9pQ